This also means that Bristol has ranked eighth best university in the UK – a rise of one place from the previous rankings.
QS World University Rankings 2026 by global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds feature 1,501 universities across 106 countries, including 90 in United Kingdom.
Other areas that were rated and saw improvements for the University of Bristol included academic reputation, citations per faculty and employment outcomes. And for Sustainability – which assesses universities’ social and environmental impact - Bristol has been rated as 12th in the world.
Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, said: “Three years ago when we launched our strategy that will take us to 2030 we challenged ourselves to be firmly established among the world’s top 50 great universities, and the top 10 in the UK.
“Today, I am pleased to note that our achievements have been recognised by the QS rankings which now place us 51st in the world, and eighth in the UK as well as 12th globally for sustainability.
“Of course, rankings are only one measure of achievement, and they can easily fall as well as rise. But it is good to see that we are now much better known internationally for the new knowledge we create and the difference we make to peoples’ lives at every level.”